New Blood

I live in South Los Angeles and rarely venture downtown, so I can't speak for other parts of the city. But on Monday the bank here was open; the grocery store was open; the drive-thru at the fast food place was open; the gas station was open (but at those prices I wish it were closed); and my lawn was cut (children still have chores). All of my tenants paid their rent on time. Day of absence? Maybe. But it's chilling to stick your hands in a pail of water and, upon removing them, see how much you're missed.

There are new doping charges against seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong , but do you believe them? On Wednesday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency brought formal doping charges against him that could result in him being stripped of his Tour de France titles. USADA says it collected bloodfrom Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that was "fully consistent with blood ma­nipu­la­tion including EPO use and/or blood transfusions. " Armstrong responded by saying, "I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one. That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence.

At first Rodrigo Nunez thought he would always be a migrant farm worker--that's what he was and all he could hope to be, when he was stricken with a deadly blood disease at the age of 18 in 1978. Then he thought he'd die far from his family in Mexico, among people who did not understand his language or his terror. Last Wednesday Nunez spoke of miracles, in perfect English, to others whose lives were saved by bone marrow transplants, and they understood him perfectly.

Almost a decade after they started, the Cramps remain hermetically sealed in their stylistic crypt. The increasingly reclusive quartet's first hometown appearance in more than two years at a half-filled Universal Amphitheatre on Saturday showed that little has changed for these Norma Desmonds of psychobilly, as the group roared through a trashy set of swap-meet Gothic sex-rock.

California has played host to some of the most dramatic presidential primary elections in American political history. There was Barry Goldwater's victory over Nelson Rockefeller in the GOP primary in June 1964; Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's win in 1968, nullified moments later by a gunman's bullet, and George McGovern over Hubert H. Humphrey in 1972. And then. . . . Well, that's about it. California's June primary quickly became an exercise in political impotence.

Blood collection days at the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the American Red Cross have been changed to the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The community bloodmobile will be at 1501 S. Brand Blvd. from 2:15 to 7 p.m. Blood donors are asked to make reservations: (800) 974-2113.

The list of candidates for the coaching job that became available when the Kings fired Robbie Ftorek Tuesday is taking shape. It is being compiled by General Manager Rogie Vachon and probably won't include anyone who would demand to be general manager as well as coach. "Rogie is our general manager and he'll be back; that's for sure," owner Bruce McNall said Wednesday from New York, where he is attending meetings of the National Hockey League's expansion committee. "I know you're hearing about some good coaches who would only come if they could be general manager, too. I've heard the same thing.

So UCLA did it. The Bruins beat USC Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. Wow. Without two of its top six players, USC couldn't quite complete the season sweep of UCLA. Let the party begin. Instead of only having hopes of an NIT invitation, the Bruins can still cling to hopes of an NCAA tournament bid, can still maybe fool themselves that a national championship might still be theirs this season. How sad is this though? Celebrating a season split with USC.

Madison Offenhauser, a 29- year-old real estate agent with a lot of nervous energy and good business connections, is the kind of donor/volunteer the Music Center would like to see more of. For it to survive and flourish in the decades to come, the center must encourage younger Angelenos with time and money to spend it on the Music Center. Offenhauser, an agent with June Scott & Associates, has been involved with the center's upcoming L.A. Alive!

A new test looks for a genetic defect, 11307K, which increases one's chances of getting familial colorectal cancer. As a class, these inherited colon cancers constitute 15% to 50% of all colorectal cancers. This defect is rare in people who are not Jewish. (Tests exist for two other kinds of inherited colon cancer: hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer and familial adenomatous colon cancer.